This invention relates to motor fuel compositions for use in internal combustion engines, and more particularly to gasoline compositions and a method for reducing fuel consumption by using said gasoline as fuel for the engines.
The trend today in the design of new internal combustion engines, and particularly those engines employed for vehicular transportation, is toward increasing fuel economy to conserve rapidly depleting hydrocarbon resources. Also there is great need for improved gasolines which can further reduce fuel consumption of existing engines, and particularly spark-ignition internal combustion engines.
Recent fuel cost increases have changed engine cost/benefit design guidelines and, therefore, renewed interest in engine friction reduction. At a typical part throttle engine operating condition, the mechanical friction (including oil pump and water pump) of a conventional four-cylinder engine consumes approximately 22% of the indicated power. A 1 psi (6.9 kPa) MEP reduction in mechanical friction can result in an EPA, M-H fuel economy improvement of 1%-2%, depending on the engine/vehicle configuration.
Reducing engine friction must be accomplished without adversely affecting other important properties of the crankcase oil such as detergency, antiwear and load-carrying properties. The present invention is concerned with the development of energy-saving gasoline fuel additives which reduce fuel consumption without adversely affecting other oil properties.
A gasoline composition and method of reducing fuel consumption of an internal combustion engine utilizing a minor friction-reducing amount of a sulfurized fatty acid amide, ester or ester-amide of an oxyalkylated amine are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,898.
A lubricating composition and a method of preparing oil soluble sulfurized norbornenyl compounds for use in lubricating oil as anti-oxidants or load carrying agents are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,031, which is incorporated herein by reference.